Parliament passholder arrested

The arrest sparked fresh speculation that Wednesday's protest by five members of climate change campaign group Plane Stupid was an "inside job".

The group are believed to have been caught on CCTV camera as they entered the parliamentary estate through Portcullis House.

One source suggested a passholder was captured on film carrying a bag thought to contain the banners later unfurled by the protesters and handcuffs used to attach themselves to railings.
It is also believed the worker used a pass to open a security door to get the demonstrators on the roof.

Tamsin Omond, Graham Thompson, Olivia Chessell, Leo Murray and Richard George denied any such help, claiming to have got to the roof via a fire escape and a lift. They unfurled protest banners and chained themselves to the building.

But just one day after the five were questioned at Belgravia police station under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA), officers swooped on the Westminster passholder. Scotland Yard said the man was not an MP or Lord.

A Met spokesman said: "At 6.05pm yesterday evening a 26-year-old man was arrested at his home in Westminster in connection with the rooftop protest. He has been arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting an offence of trespass.

"He is a current Parliamentary passholder who has worked for Members of both Houses and has been taken to a central London police station where he will be interviewed by police."

The five activists have been bailed until April. Malcolm Carroll, a spokesman for Plane Stupid, said police would consult the Attorney General before deciding whether to charge them.

Mr Thompson told the Standard the group had no intention of stopping their campaign of "direct action".